while i don’t fully agree,, thankfully i’m not sure i need to! the Pledge doesn’t require i spend new resources, i.e., it doesn’t come at the expense of other actions i can (and should) be doing in this space. rather, i see it as complimentary. i eat the same number of meals a day, the same types of food, and hopefully with the same people as i otherwise would.
to the extent practicing the Pledge does require additional social/emotional capital up front, i view it as an investment into my future self. (the more i have these convos, the easier they get; the more i have these convos, the less i need to have them (as they’ve already been had); failing to have these convos kicks the ball down the road, and forces continued [albeit buried] strain upon my relationships).
Thanks for the engagement. I’m sometimes confused when things I perceive as subtly-but-not-legibly costly are not seen as costly by other people. Here’s another example that comes to mind.
thanks for that link; i see what you are getting at.
yes, i do think practicing the Pledge comes with some of the costs you mention in other comment. i simply think that the harms of these systems are so devastating comparatively that practicing the Pledge is the least i can do.
moreover, from my experience, practicing the Pledge has increased—not decreased—my capacity for further activism. in section IV.7 i respond to the issue of moral licensing, which applies here: ”However, at least in this context, the opposite impact is more likely. Powerfully and publicly acting on one’s values every mealtime helps the practitioner to build their confidence and conviction. And rather than limiting one’s additional activism, this impassioned conviction more often spills over to inspire continued engagement in the movement.”
I think I may have misunderstood the scope of your post. If you mean to restrict it to (animal) activists, then I’m much less sure about my top comment (though still think it is probably in the right direction). However, the EA Forum have many people who want to do good in different roles, including e.g., entrepreneurs, students, earning-to-givers, professional communicators, bureaucrats, grantmakers, lawyers, operations folks, and (especially) researchers. For most of those roles, seeing yourself primarily motivated by impassioned conviction and activism may be less directly useful than for activists.
i think the Pledge can be an effective tool (amongst others) for individuals to challenge the harms caused by Big Meat. i.e., it can be used by activists focused on the harms to animals, to public health, to workers, to the environment, etc. the article copied below makes a compelling case for framing veganism in this way (and i think the same applies to the Pledge):
(fwiw, i define activism/activists quite broadly; far from being reserved from grassroots organizers on the street, i think activist can (and should) apply to anyone trying to change the social conditions we were born into. by that definition, i think most EAs fall into that category).
hey Linch. i like this comment!
while i don’t fully agree,, thankfully i’m not sure i need to! the Pledge doesn’t require i spend new resources, i.e., it doesn’t come at the expense of other actions i can (and should) be doing in this space. rather, i see it as complimentary. i eat the same number of meals a day, the same types of food, and hopefully with the same people as i otherwise would.
to the extent practicing the Pledge does require additional social/emotional capital up front, i view it as an investment into my future self. (the more i have these convos, the easier they get; the more i have these convos, the less i need to have them (as they’ve already been had); failing to have these convos kicks the ball down the road, and forces continued [albeit buried] strain upon my relationships).
Thanks for the engagement. I’m sometimes confused when things I perceive as subtly-but-not-legibly costly are not seen as costly by other people. Here’s another example that comes to mind.
thanks for that link; i see what you are getting at.
yes, i do think practicing the Pledge comes with some of the costs you mention in other comment. i simply think that the harms of these systems are so devastating comparatively that practicing the Pledge is the least i can do.
moreover, from my experience, practicing the Pledge has increased—not decreased—my capacity for further activism. in section IV.7 i respond to the issue of moral licensing, which applies here:
”However, at least in this context, the opposite impact is more likely. Powerfully and publicly acting on one’s values every mealtime helps the practitioner to build their confidence and conviction. And rather than limiting one’s additional activism, this impassioned conviction more often spills over to inspire continued engagement in the movement.”
I think I may have misunderstood the scope of your post. If you mean to restrict it to (animal) activists, then I’m much less sure about my top comment (though still think it is probably in the right direction). However, the EA Forum have many people who want to do good in different roles, including e.g., entrepreneurs, students, earning-to-givers, professional communicators, bureaucrats, grantmakers, lawyers, operations folks, and (especially) researchers. For most of those roles, seeing yourself primarily motivated by impassioned conviction and activism may be less directly useful than for activists.
i think the Pledge can be an effective tool (amongst others) for individuals to challenge the harms caused by Big Meat. i.e., it can be used by activists focused on the harms to animals, to public health, to workers, to the environment, etc. the article copied below makes a compelling case for framing veganism in this way (and i think the same applies to the Pledge):
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/10455752.2020.1837895
(fwiw, i define activism/activists quite broadly; far from being reserved from grassroots organizers on the street, i think activist can (and should) apply to anyone trying to change the social conditions we were born into. by that definition, i think most EAs fall into that category).